Study for Perpetuum Mobile
Aleksandr Rodchenko
Russian, 1891–1956
1922
A pencil on graph paper filled with small schematic sketches in which Rodchenko explores rotating geometric forms and pivoted circles as studies for his kinetic work Perpetuum Mobile.
The sheet reads like a machinist’s notebook—rows of crosses, diamonds, triangles and curved blades, each anchored by tiny pivot circles on a faint grid, the repeated permutations suggesting measured experiments in motion.
A compact record of Constructivist practice that treats drawing as design, bridging art and engineering and helping to translate ideas of rhythm, mechanism, and movement into early kinetic sculpture and industrial design.
Medium
Pencil on graph paper
Dimensions
14 x 8 5/8" (35.6 x 22.5 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Varvara Alexandrovna Rodchenko and Alexander N. Lavrentiev
Accession
17.1998
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
